Guerrero’s first homer of season headlines strong Blue Jays win

TORONTO – It took 19 games, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s first home run of the season was well worth the wait. 

The Toronto Blue Jays slugger was facing Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider in the sixth inning of Wednesday’s contest at Rogers Centre. He went down 0-2 but worked the count full before fouling off a high-and-tight 95.2-m.p.h. four-seamer from Strider. 

Then came the exhale moment. 

Guerrero Jr. attacked a hanging slider from Strider and blasted it into the second deck in left field, causing an eruption from the 25,328 in attendance. His swing finished with a high arc and Guerrero Jr. stood and admired the moonshot that hung in the air for 5.6 seconds before dropping his lumber, rolling his shoulders forward and rounding the bases. 

“Obviously it feels good,” Guerrero Jr. said later, through interpreter Hector Lebron. “But I felt even better that we won the game.”

The entire sequence was a beautiful one for the Blue Jays, and it was the highlight of their 3-1 win over Atlanta that also featured a dominant outing from starter Chris Bassitt and strong work from the bullpen. 

It seemed like everybody around the Blue Jays — players, coaches, fans alike — were waiting for Guerrero Jr.’s first homer of the season. He’s been in the spotlight all week due to his landmark 14-year, $500-million contract extension that was made official during a celebratory press conference on Monday. 

Guerrero Jr. had been solid at the plate this season but mostly collected just a bevy of singles. His underlying metrics were quite strong, though, and so there was never any real concern there. 

“Hopefully that gets him going,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider of the homer. “He's been close. He's been swinging the bat really well.”

When the dam finally broke, though, Guerrero Jr. put on the team’s home run jacket, walked to the end of the dugout then showed his relief in front of a nearby television camera.

“About (expletive) time,” he said with a big smile. 

“When I got to the dugout, the guys were joking with me and saying that, ‘You finally got one,’” added Guerrero Jr. post-game. “It was fun.”

That home run gave the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead and offered support for Bassitt, who twirled a gem. The right-hander was in complete control from the opening frame, striking out the side and quickly dispelling any worries about the neck issue he’s been experiencing. 

Bassitt fought through tightness on the right side of his neck to deliver 5.2 innings of one-run ball last Thursday in Boston and had his neck wrapped while sitting at his locker in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse prior to Wednesday’s game. 

However, the results hours later were convincing as Bassitt only really encountered trouble in the fifth frame. With one out, he surrendered two straight singles to Atlanta’s No. 8 and 9 hitters, and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Bassitt then engaged in an eight-pitch at-bat with Michael Harris II, eventually putting the left-handed hitter away by burying a curveball that produced a weak swing and miss. 

Then, up came Austin Riley, who’s homered three times in this series.

“To me, that's the biggest at-bat of the game,” said Schneider.

Bassitt went down 2-0 in the count before battling back to eventually get Riley to offer a half-swing on a high cutter to end the inning. The right-hander was revved up and let out a roar after finishing off what was his final batter of the afternoon.

“I think he's truly one of the best hitters in the world because I think he's one of the smartest hitters in the world,” Bassitt said of Riley. “He'll catch you a lot of the time trying to throw a quality pitch, but he's sitting on it. So, I was just really trying to mix up as best I can, knowing the quality of hitter that he is.”

Bassitt mixed his seven pitches well on Wednesday to keep Atlanta’s hitters off balance. He allowed three hits over five scoreless innings, walking two and striking out a season-high 10. His 0.77 ERA leads all MLB starters, and he’s tied for fourth in strikeouts with 31. He attributed the rise in punchouts to improvement on his four-seamer and the addition of a splitter.

The Blue Jays’ bullpen secured the win for Bassitt with dominant work to bridge the gap to closer Jeff Hoffman. Brendon Little tossed a scoreless frame, Nick Sandlin covered two outs, then Yimi Garcia struck out each of the four batters he faced. Hoffman allowed a solo home run to Drake Baldwin but recovered to earn his fourth save of the season. 

Blue Jays pitchers combined for 19 strikeouts on Wednesday, the most in a nine-inning game in franchise history.

“Back end of our bullpen, I'll take against anybody's,” said Bassitt. “It's something that I haven't really experienced — no offence to anybody — since the Oakland days with [Blake] Treinen and [Lou] Trivino doing their thing.

“It's pretty easy for us as starters,” he added. “It's a race to five innings, maybe six. And then it's going to be really hard for us to lose a game.”

Bassitt lobbied Schneider to allow him to pitch deeper into the contest, but with the combination of his stressful fifth inning, overall pitch count (90), recent neck issues and the off day on Thursday, the manager opted to remove his starter.

“I just told him, ‘You can hate me right now, but this is good for you and in the long run,’” said Schneider. “He totally gets it.”

The insurance run provided by Guerrero Jr.’s homer helped offset any second-guessing, and overall, Wednesday was a strong team win for the Blue Jays, who took two of three from the Braves. Both victories came against right-handers Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach — arguably the most fearsome 1-2 punch in the league. 

The Blue Jays are 11-8 and, at least at the conclusion of Wednesday’s win, sit in a three-team tie for best record in the American League.

“We're playing good ball right now but the key here is we're together in this,” said Guerrero Jr. “From the time we get to the clubhouse, we're united. And the chemistry is very good right now.”